Modular crop divider and base cutter arrangement for sugarcane harvesters

ABSTRACT

A sugarcane harvester may include a chassis with various discreet and laterally separated mounting locations. Crop divider support modules may be configured to separately and fixedly attach to the chassis at various of the mounting locations, in order to support respective crop dividers in a variety of discreet and laterally separated orientations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This is a divisional application of U.S. Utility application Ser. No.14/670,230, filed Mar. 26, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/012,100 filed Jun. 13, 2014, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to sugarcane harvesters, including modularconfigurations for sugarcane harvesters.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Harvesters of various types, including sugarcane harvesters, may includeharvesting devices of various types. Harvesting devices for a sugarcaneharvester, for example, may include assemblies for cutting, chopping,sorting, transporting, and otherwise gathering and processing sugarcaneplants. Typical harvesting devices include base cutter assemblies (or“base cutters”), feed rollers, cutting drums, and so on. In variousharvesters, harvesting devices may be hydraulically powered by anengine-driven (or other) pump.

To actively harvest crops, a harvester may move along a field withharvesting devices engaged, the harvesting devices gathering andprocessing material from rows of crop plants. In the case of sugarcaneharvesters, gathered sugarcane stalks may be chopped into billets fordelivery to a trailing wagon, while leaves and trash may be separatedfrom the billets and ejected into the field.

Sugarcane may be planted in a variety of arrangements, including infields with raised rows, flat rows, rows with various spacings, and soon. As such, a configuration of harvesting devices that is useful forharvesting a particular field may not be optimal for harvesting adifferent field. For example, in fields with one particular row spacing,a particular width between crop dividers may be utilized toappropriately direct sugarcane into the harvester. In fields with adifferent row spacing, however, a different width between crop dividersmay be more effective. Similarly, a particular combination andorientation of various base cutters (or other harvesting devices) may beparticularly suitable to specific field arrangements and sugarcanecharacteristics. A different combination and orientation, however, maybe more effective in other circumstances.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A modular assembly is disclosed for monitoring various operating modesof a harvester. According to one aspect of the disclosure, a sugarcaneharvester may include a chassis with various discreet and laterallyseparated mounting locations. Crop divider support modules may beconfigured to separately and fixedly attach to the chassis at various ofthe mounting locations, in order to support respective crop dividers ina variety of discreet and laterally separated orientations.

In certain embodiments, base cutter support modules may be configured toseparately and fixedly attach to the chassis at various mountinglocations, in order to support respective base cutters in a variety ofdiscreet and laterally separated orientations. The base cutter supportmodules may be attached to the chassis at common mounting locations withthe crop divider support modules.

In certain embodiments, various actuators may be provided. Certainactuators, for example, may be configured to move base cutter assemblieswith respect to associated base cutter support modules, to move cropdividers with respect to associated crop divider support modules, or tomove various support modules between different mounting locations.

In certain embodiments, the chassis may include a module cavity. A feedroller support module and a rear base cutter support module may beseparately mounted within the module cavity. The feed roller supportmodule may be configured to support feed rollers within the modulecavity when mounted to the chassis. The rear base cutter support modulemay be configured to support rear base cutters within the module cavitywhen mounted to the chassis.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of an example sugarcane harvester with modularassembly;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing support modules attached toa chassis of the harvester of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are enlarged partial perspective views of the attachmentof a first support module of FIG. 2 to the chassis;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a crop divider and crop dividersupport attached to the first support module of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of a base cutter and support armattached to a second support module of FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 6A and 6B are partial top views of the harvester of FIG. 1,including a module cavity.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes one or more example embodiments of the disclosedmodular assembly for sugarcane harvesters, as shown in the accompanyingfigures of the drawings described briefly above. Various modificationsto the example embodiments may be contemplated by one of skill in theart.

As noted above, it may be useful to configure a particular sugarcaneharvester differently, depending on the characteristics of the field andsugarcane to be harvested, as well as other factors. Existing systemsfor adjusting sugarcane harvester configuration, however, may lackstability or rigidity, and may allow adjustment of only a limited numberof harvesting devices (e.g., only a set of crop dividers, only aknockdown roller, and so on). Further, existing systems may notfacilitate the mounting and configuration of various combinations ofmultiple harvesting devices for a particular harvester chassis.

The disclosed modular assembly may address these and other issues. Amodular assembly may allow for customizable configuration of a varietyof harvesting devices for a particular sugarcane harvester, depending oncurrent harvesting needs. A modular assembly may also allow an operatorto readily substitute certain harvesting devices for others, for aparticular harvester, in order to better configure the harvester for aparticular field.

In certain embodiments, a chassis of a harvester may be outfitted with anumber of mounting locations (e.g., a number of precisely located boltholes). A crop divider support module may be attached to the chassis atvarious of the mounting locations, such that, depending upon themounting location utilized, the support module may support a cropdivider, with respect to the chassis, in a variety of orientations. Incertain embodiments, crop divider support modules may be mounted oneither side of the front of a chassis, in order to separately support apair of crop dividers at a particular configuration (e.g., a particularspacing) suitable to a particular field (e.g., with particular rowspacing).

In certain embodiments, a base cutter support module may also be mountedto various mounting locations on a harvester chassis. In this way, abase cutter assembly may also be supported in a variety of orientationswith respect to the chassis. In certain embodiments, mounting locationsfor a crop divider support module may also be utilized for a base cuttersupport module. For example, a crop divider support module may bealigned with a chassis at one set of mounting locations. A base cuttersupport module (e.g., a front base cutter support module) may then alsobe aligned with the chassis at the one set of mounting locations (or aportion thereof), and both of the support modules mounted the chassiswith a common connection (e.g., shared bolts attached to a sharedmounting locations)

In certain embodiments, the chassis may define a module cavity (e.g., aspace generally between a particular set of chassis beams or supports),within which a variety of harvesting (or other) modules may beinterchangeably mounted. For example, another base cutter support module(e.g., rear base cutter support module) and a feed roller support modulemay both be provided. The two modules may be configured to mount to thechassis (e.g., using the same mounting locations) such that a rear basecutter or a set of feed rollers, respectively, are oriented within themodule cavity. As such, depending upon which of the modules is selected,a harvester may be readily equipped with either a second (or other) basecutter or an additional set of feed rollers.

In certain embodiments, a transport frame (e.g., an axle assembly, atrack carriage, and so on) may be provided in order to support atransport mechanism (e.g., various wheels, tracks, and so on) for aharvester while also allowing customizable configuration of theorientation of the transport mechanism. For example, a set of tracks maybe supported by a track frame (or carriage), which may itself beattached to a chassis of a harvester. Various devices may be utilized toadjust the orientation of the set of tracks with respect to theharvester. For example, tracks on either side of the harvester may bemoved laterally (or otherwise) on a supporting track frame to vary thespacing between the tracks, or a separate track frame on each side ofthe harvester may be moved laterally (or otherwise) with respect to thechassis to the same effect.

As will become apparent from the discussion herein, the disclosedmodular assembly may be used advantageously in a variety of settings andwith a variety of machinery. In certain embodiments, referring now toFIG. 1, the disclosed system and method may be implemented with regardto a sugarcane harvester 20. It will be understood, however, that thedisclosed system and method may be used for various other vehicles ornon-vehicle platforms, including various sugarcane harvesters ofdifferent configurations or designs than the sugarcane harvester 20 ofFIG. 1.

The harvester 20 is presented in a side view in FIG. 1, with the frontof the harvester 20 facing to the left. Accordingly, certain right-sidecomponents of the harvester 20 are not be visible in FIG. 1. Theharvester 20 may include a cab 18 to seat an operator, as well as achassis 22, supporting various cutting, routing and processing devices.In certain embodiments, the chassis 22 may be supported by a transportframe such as track frame 60 supporting track assemblies 24. Otherharvesters may include wheels supported by axle assemblies (not shown).An engine 26 may supply power for driving the harvester along a fieldand for powering various driven components of the harvester 20. Incertain embodiments, the engine 26 may directly power a main hydraulicpump (not shown). Various driven components of the harvester 20 may bepowered by hydraulic motors (not shown) receiving hydraulic power fromthe main hydraulic pump via one or more hydraulic loops (not shown).

A cane topper 30 may extend forward of the chassis 22 in order to removethe leafy tops of sugarcane plants (not shown), and a set of rotary cropdividers (e.g., left-side divider 32 shown in FIG. 1) may guide theremainder of the sugarcane toward internal mechanisms of the harvester20 for processing. As the harvester 20 moves across a field, plantspassing between the crop dividers 32 may be deflected downward by aknockdown roller 36 before being cut near the base of the plants by oneof base cutters 34 and 38. The crop dividers 32 and the base cutters 34and 38 may be supported by the chassis 22 in various ways.

Rotating disks, guides, or paddles (not shown) on the front base cutter38 and the rear base cutter 34 may further direct the cut ends of theplants upwardly and rearward within the harvester 20 into a feed trainfor further transport and processing. For example, sugarcane cut by oneof the base cutters 34 or 38 may be passed by the base cutters 34 or 38toward successive pairs of upper and lower feed rollers 40 and 42supported by the chassis 22. The feed rollers 40 and 42 may then rotatein order to convey the stalks toward chopper drums 44 and 46 forchopping into relatively uniform billets. In certain embodiments, thefeed rollers 40 and 42 may be included in a hydraulic circuit such thatthe feed rollers 40 and 42 may be rotatably driven by a hydraulic motoror other device (not shown).

The chopper drums 44 and 46 may rotate in opposite directions, withrespect to each other, in order to chop the passing stalks into billetsand propel the billets into a cleaning chamber 48 at the base of aprimary extractor 50. The primary extractor 50 may utilize a powered fanto extract trash and debris from the cleaning chamber 48, while allowingthe billets of sugarcane stalks to drop onto a loading elevator 52 witha forward end located at the bottom of the cleaning zone 48. The loadingelevator 52 may then convey the cleaned billets upward to a dischargelocation 54, below a secondary extractor 56, where the billets may bedischarged into a trailing truck or other receptacle (not shown).

As also noted above, various devices within the harvester 20 may bedriven via hydraulic (or other) motors that are indirectly powered bythe engine 26. For example, rotation of the cutting blades of the basecutter 34 may be driven by one or more hydraulic motors (not shown) on aclosed-loop base cutter hydraulic circuit (not shown), which may in turnbe powered by the main hydraulic pump (not shown) driven by the engine26. The hydraulic circuit for the base cutter 34 may be distinct fromthe hydraulic circuit for other harvesting devices (e.g., the feedrollers 40 and 42 or other devices).

As another example, rotation of the chopper drums 44 and 46 may bedriven by one or more hydraulic motors (not shown) on a closed-loopchopper drum hydraulic circuit (not shown), which may in turn be poweredby the man hydraulic pump (not shown) driven by the engine 26. Thehydraulic circuit for the chopper drums 44 and 46 may be distinct fromthe hydraulic circuit for other harvesting devices (e.g., the feedrollers 40 and 42, the base cutter 34, or other devices).

In certain embodiments, various sensors and related devices may beutilized. For example, one or more position (or height) sensors 62 and64 may be oriented at or near the crop dividers 32 in order to assist intracking the orientation of the crop divider 32 with respect to theground or to the chassis 22 of the harvester 20. The sensors 62 and 64may be configured in various ways and may be in communication withvarious other devices associated with the harvester 20. Separate sensors62 or 64 may be utilized to separately track the orientation of separate(e.g., right and left) crop dividers 32. In certain embodiments, variousother sensors and sensor types may additionally (or alternatively) beutilized.

In certain embodiments, one or more control devices, such as controller58, may be included in (or otherwise associated with) the harvester 20.The controller 58, for example, may include one or more computingdevices including various processor devices and various associatedmemory architectures. In certain embodiments, the controller 58 mayadditionally (or alternatively) include various other control devicessuch as various electro-hydraulic valves and hydraulic circuits, variouselectronic control circuits and devices (e.g., various power electronicsdevices), and so on. In certain embodiments, the controller 58 (oranother control device) may be in communication with various switches,controls and other interfaces or input devices (not shown) in the cab18, as well as with various sensors, actuators, or other devices (notshown in FIG. 1) distributed throughout the harvester 20. For example,the controller 58 may be in communication with the position sensors 62and 64, wheel speed sensors (not shown), engine speed sensors (notshown), and so on. In certain embodiments, the controller 58 (or anothercontrol device) may be a remotely located from the harvester 20 and maycommunicate with various devices and systems of the harvester 20 viawireless or other communication means.

The crop dividers 32 may be supported with respect to the chassis in anumber of ways. In certain embodiments, the crop dividers 32 may besupported on removable modules, such that the orientation of the cropdividers 32 with respect to the chassis 22 may be easily configurable.Referring also to FIG. 2, various mounting structures may be attached to(or formed as part of) the chassis 22 in order to provide a variety ofmounting locations for the crop dividers 32. For example, an uppermounting structure 80 and a lower mounting structure 90, eachconstructed of formed and welded metal plates, may be bolted or weldedto the chassis 22. A variety of sleeves 82 and 100 may extend throughthe mounting structures 80 and 90, the sleeves 82 and 100 (or others)being configured to receive various bolts 76, 78, and 88 (or otherattachment devices). Other devices for mounting components to themounting structures 80 and 90 may additionally (or alternatively) beutilized, including various clips, latches, hooks, bolt holes, and soon. The locations of the sleeves 82 and 100 along the structures 80 and90 (or the locations of other mounting devices) may be viewed as“mounting locations.” As can be seen from the location of the variousbolts 76, 78 and 88 and sleeves 82 and 100 in FIG. 2, the variousmounting locations for the mounting structures 80 and 90 may be spacedlaterally apart from each other. The sleeves 82 and 100 (or othermounting devices) may accordingly provide for a relatively rigidconnection between various support modules (as discussed below) and thechassis 22, in each of various possible configurations.

As depicted in the various figures, the mounting structures 80 and 90may extend laterally across the full width of the chassis 22. In certainembodiments, it may be appropriate to include mounting structures thatdo not extend across the full width of the chassis 22. For exampleseparate right- and left-side mounting structures (not shown) may beutilized.

One or more crop divider support modules 70 (e.g., one module 70 foreach side of the harvester 20) may be utilized to in order to supportthe crop dividers 32 in a configurable manner. The support modules 70may be attached to the mounting structures 80 and 90 at various of thedifferent mounting locations, depending on the desired orientation ofthe modules 70. In this way, the support modules 70 may be supported atvarious discreet and laterally separated orientations with respect tothe chassis 22. In certain embodiments, the support modules 70 may beattached to the mounting structures 80 and 90 by way of various bolts76, 78 and 88 secured through a particular set of sleeves 82 and 100,which may correspond to a particular orientation of the modules 70. Thismay be useful, for example, in order to harvest sugarcane fields withdifferent row spacings and in various other settings. This may alsoimprove durability and reliability of the modular system.

In the embodiment depicted, the support modules 70 may be attached tothe chassis 22 using laterally outer mounting locations for wider rowspacing (e.g., 1.5 m rows) and may be attached to the chassis 22 usinglaterally inner mounting locations for narrower rows (e.g., 0.9 m rows).Other spacings and mounting locations may also be possible.

In certain embodiments, support module 70 may exhibit a generallyy-shaped profile, with an upper mounting arm 72, a lower mounting arm84, and a support arm 92 connected to the two mounting arms 72 and 84.Various known techniques (e.g., I-beam profiles, cross-supports, and soon) may be used to provide suitable strength and rigidity to the variousarms 72, 84, and 92, and to the support module 70 as a whole. The uppermounting arm 72 may include, at an upper end, a mounting bracket 74, ora similar attachment structure or mechanism. In the embodiment depicted,referring also to FIG. 3A, the mounting bracket 74 may include a hookedportion, which may seat on an upper tab 80 a of the mounting structure80 when the support module 70 is attached to the chassis 22. In order toattach the upper mounting arm 72 to the mounting structure 80, with themounting bracket 74 appropriately aligned with the mounting structure80, various bolts 76 and 78 may be secured through various sleeves 82.

Referring also to FIG. 3B, the lower mounting arm 84 may include, at anupper or rearward end, a mounting bracket 86 or a similar attachmentstructure or mechanism. In the embodiment depicted, the mounting bracket86 may be configured to seat against a forward portion of the mountingstructure 90. Various bolts 88 may then be secured through varioussleeves 100, in order to attach the lower mounting arm 84 to themounting structure 90.

In order to mount the support module 70 to the chassis 22 of theharvester 20 in a variety of configurations, an operator may lift thesupport module 70 to seat the upper mounting bracket 74 on the uppermounting structure 80. This may cause the natural moment of the supportmodule 70 to urge the lower mounting bracket 86 against the lowermounting structure 90. The operator may then align the support module 70with the appropriate set of mounting locations and secure the module 70to the both of the mounting structures 80 and 90. As noted above, inthis way an operator may configure various support modules 70 (e.g.,each of left- and right-side support modules 70) to support theassociated crop dividers 32 in various orientations.

The crop dividers 32 may be supported by the support modules 70 invarious ways. In certain embodiments, referring also to FIG. 4, the cropdividers 32 may be configured to move with respect to the supportmodules 70 and the chassis 22. In the embodiment depicted, the cropdivider 32 may be supported with respect to the support module 70 by afour-bar linkage assembly. Each support module 70, for example, mayinclude pivot mounts 94 and 96, for indirect (or direct) attachment ofthe crop dividers 32. Various links 136 and 138 may be mounted to thepivot mounts 94 and 96, as well as to pivot mounts 132 and 134 on aframe 130 for the associated crop divider 32. In certain embodiments,the length of one or more of the links 136 and 138 may be adjustable inorder to adjust the range of movement of the crop divider frame 130 (andthe crop divider 32) with respect to the support module 70 and thechassis 22. For example, the link 138 may include a slot and boltassembly 140, by which the length of the link 138 may be adjusted. Itwill be understood that various other support arrangements (e.g., leverarrangements, other linkages, and so on) may be utilized.

In certain embodiments, a ground-tracking assembly for the crop dividers32 may help to maintaining appropriate contact between the crop dividers32 and the ground of a particular field. For example, a hydraulic (orother) system may be provided in order to actuate or otherwise controlmovement of the crop dividers 32 in response to the contours of theground. In the embodiment depicted, an actuator mount 142 may beprovided on the link 136, and a corresponding actuator mount 98 may beprovided on the support module 70. An actuator (e.g., hydraulic actuator102) may be attached to each of the mounts 142 and 98, such thatextension or retraction of the cylinder of the actuator 102 may move thecrop divider frame 130 along a path defined by the links 136 and 138.

In certain embodiments, various control strategies may be utilized for aground-tracking assembly. For example, a target pressure (or pressurerange) may be determined for the hydraulic actuator 102, which maycorrespond to an appropriate pressure (or range of pressures) on theground. A pressure transducer (not shown) may be utilized to monitor theactual pressure on the actuator 102, which may vary depending on theforce of contact between the crop dividers 32 and the ground. If changesin terrain (e.g., rises or ridges in the field) urge the crop divider 32upward such that the system pressures exceed the target pressure(orpressure range), a pump (not shown) may be activated to move the cropdivider 32 (e.g., upward) until the system returns to the targetpressure (or range). This may help to ensure that there is appropriateforce applied between the ground and the crop divider 32, such that thecrop divider 32 neither digs too deeply into the soil nor bouncesexcessively along the ground. In certain implementations, a look-uptable or similar resource or process may be utilized to determine anappropriate target pressure setting based upon the current position ofthe crop divider 32. For example, a current target pressure may beautomatically adjusted whenever the crop divider 32 is re-oriented withthe actuator 102 and the links 136 and 138 (e.g., as discussed ingreater detail below).

In certain embodiments, a position sensor 144 (e.g., a linear, rotary orother sensor) may be utilized to monitor the relative orientation of thecrop divider frame 130 and the crop divider 32, with respect to the cropdivider support module 70 and the chassis 22. For example, the positionsensor 144 may be attached (not shown) to the lower link 136 in order todetect the relative orientation of the link 136. This information may beprovided to a controller (e.g., the controller 58) in order to calculatea current orientation of the crop divider 32 and frame 130 with respectto the chassis 22, the module 70, or the ground.

As noted above, the support module 70 may be supported on the mountingstructures 80 and 90 in a number of discreet and laterally separatedpositions. In certain embodiments, various actuators may be provided toassist in moving the support module 70 (and other modules) between thesepositions. For example, referring again to FIG. 2, an actuator 104 maybe provided. In order to appropriately configure the harvester 20, theactuator 104 may be utilized to move the support module 70 laterallyalong the upper and lower mounting structures 80 and 90 between variousmounting locations. Once aligned with an appropriate mounting locationby the actuator 104, the module 70 may then be rigidly secured to themounting structures 80 and 90 (e.g., via the various bolts 76, 78, and88 and sleeves 82 and 100). In this way, for example, the actuators 104may be used to assist in alignment of the support modules 70, but thebenefits of discreet, rigid mounting connections may be retained.

Still referring to FIG. 2, in order to support various front basecutters 38 in a configurable manner, one or more base cutter supportmodules 112 (e.g., one module 112 for each side of the harvester 20) maybe provided. Like the crop divider support modules 70, the base cuttersupport modules 112 may be attached to the chassis at various of thedifferent mounting locations (e.g., through various bolts 76, 78 and 88secured through various sleeves 82 and 100). In this way, the supportmodules 112 may be supported at various different discreet and laterallyseparated orientations with respect to the chassis 22.

In certain embodiments, support module 112 may exhibit a generallyextended profile, with a mounting arm 114 extending upward away from alower support structure 118. A mounting bracket 116 (or similarattachment structure or mechanism) may be attached at the upper end ofthe mounting arm 114. The mounting bracket 116 may be aligned withappropriate mounting locations on the upper mounting structure 80, andvarious bolts 78 inserted through various sleeves 82, in order to securethe mounting arm 114 to the mounting structure 80. The support module112 may be similarly secured to the lower mounting structure 90.

In certain embodiments, the base cutter support module 112 may beconfigured to attach to the chassis at the same set (or a shared subset)of mounting locations as the crop divider support module 70. As depictedin FIG. 1, for example, the mounting bracket 116 of the support module112 may be configured to seat on the mounting bracket 74 of the supportmodule 70, such when the two modules 70 and 112 are bolted to themounting structure 80, the support module 112 is supported by thechassis 22 via the support module 70. In such a configuration, it may bepossible to configure the harvester 20 to include or not include thefront base cutter 38, as appropriate. For example, the crop dividersupport module 70 may be located on the mounting structures 80 and 90 atthe appropriate mounting locations to provide an chosen orientation (orrange of orientations) of the crop dividers 32. As needed, the basecutter support module 112 may be seated on the crop divider supportmodule 70, and the two support modules 112 and 70 rigidly secured to thechassis.

Referring also to FIG. 5, the front base cutters 38 may be supported bythe support modules 112 in various ways. (For clarity of presentation,various features are represented with phantom lines in FIG. 5.) Incertain embodiments, the base cutters 38 may be configured to move withrespect to the support modules 112. In the embodiment depicted, eachsupport module 112 may be configured to include pivot mounts 120, forindirect (or direct) attachment of the base cutters 38. A support arm158 (or other apparatus) may be pivotally mounted to the pivot mounts120 of the support module 112 at one end of the support arm 158, and mayrigidly support one of the base cutters 38 at the other end of thesupport arm 158. The support arm 158 may pivot about the pivot mounts120 in order to pivot the base cutter 38 with respect to the chassis 22.It will be understood that various other support arrangements may beutilized, including various slide assemblies, rail and rollerassemblies, linear actuators, four-bar and other linkage arrangements,other levers or arms, and so on.

In certain embodiments, a hydraulic (or other) system may be provided inorder to actuate or otherwise control movement of the base cutters 38.For example an actuator mount 160 may be provided on the base cutter 38(e.g., on a support frame (not shown) of the base cutter 38), and acorresponding actuator mount 98 may be provided on the support module112. A hydraulic (or other) actuator 162 may be attached to each of themounts 160 and 122, such that extension or retraction of the cylinder ofthe actuator 162 may move the base cutter 38 along a path defined by thesupport arm 158. Accordingly, the relative orientation of the basecutter 38 with respect to the ground and the chassis 22 may be adjusted.Correspondingly, movement of the support arm 158 may also adjust therelative angle of various base cutter components, including base cutterblades 152, disk 154, spindle 156, and so on.

Other modules (and combinations of modules) may also be utilized.Referring also to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the harvester 20 may include a set ofrear base cutters 34 as well as the set of front base cutters 38. Therear base cutters 34 may be rigidly mounted to the chassis 22 in one ofa number predetermined configurations (e.g., with the blades of the basecutters 34 oriented at one of a limited number of different cuttingangles with respect to ground), and may not necessarily be adjustablewith respect to the chassis during operation of the harvester 20. Incertain embodiments, however, the relative orientation the chassis 22itself may be adjusted, with respect to the ground, during harvesteroperation. For example, various actuators (not shown) may be utilized topivot (or otherwise move) the chassis 22 with respect to the trackframes 60 and thereby to pivot (or otherwise move) the chassis 22 withrespect to the ground. Because the base cutters 34 may be rigidlymounted to the chassis 22, this adjustment of the chassis 22 may alsochange the orientation of the base cutters 34, with respect to theground. Further, because the base cutters 38 may be mounted to thechassis via the support modules 112, adjustment of the chassis 22 mayalso change the orientation of the base cutters 38.

In certain embodiments, it may be useful to provide two sets of basecutters 34 and 38. In other instances, however, only one set of basecutters (e.g., front base cutters 38) may be necessary. When one set ofbase cutters (e.g., rear base cutters 34) is not needed, it may beuseful to utilize other harvesting devices in its place. For example,for certain row spacings of sugarcane, the rear base cutters 34 may tendto serve only to pick up sugarcane already cut by the front base cutters38 and to route the cut sugarcane further back into the feed train ofthe harvester 20. Among other issues, this use of the rear base cutters34 may increase the likelihood of losses due to double cuts of thesugarcane. Accordingly, it may be useful to substitute a differentharvesting device (e.g., a set of feed rollers) for the base cutters 34.

In certain embodiments, the disclosed modular assembly may facilitatethis substitution (and others). A module cavity may be a space defined,at least in part, by the chassis 22 within which a harvesting device maybe oriented and need not include a fully enclosed space, complete topand bottom walls, or a particular configuration of supports. Byincluding a module cavity in the chassis 22, along with correspondingmounting locations, space may be provided for relatively simpleinterchange of various harvesting devices, depending on currentharvesting needs.

In the embodiment depicted, for example, the chassis 22 may beconfigured to include a module cavity 180 that is located generallybehind the front base cutters 38 (e.g., behind and below the upper andlower mounting structures 80 and 90 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The modulecavity 180 may be viewed as a generally open space between variousstructures (e.g., various support beams, tubes and so on) of the chassis22. As depicted, the module cavity 180 may be generally between thefront base cutters 38 and the initial feed rollers 40 and 42 of the feedtrain (see FIG. 1). Different support modules for various harvestingdevice (or “harvesting device support modules”) may be configured tomount to the chassis 22, such that associated harvesting devices may beoriented within the module cavity 180. In this way, various differentharvesting devices may operate within the module cavity 180, dependingupon which harvesting device module is currently mounted to the chassis22.

Various types of harvesting device support modules may be provided. Asdepicted in FIG. 6A, a rear base cutter support module 170 may include asupport structure 172 supporting the rear base cutters 34. The supportstructure 172 may be configured such that the base cutters 34 aregenerally oriented within the module cavity 180 when the supportstructure 172 is mounted to the chassis 22. As depicted in FIG. 6B, afeed roller support module 174 may include a support structure 176supporting various feed rollers 178. The support structure 176 may beconfigured such that the feed rollers 178 are generally oriented withinthe module cavity 180 when the support structure 176 is mounted to thechassis 22. In certain embodiments, the chassis 22, the module cavity180, and the various related harvesting device modules (e.g., modules170 and 174) may be configured such when the various modules are mountedto the chassis 22 the associated harvesting devices are aligned to passsugarcane material to downstream components of the feed train (e.g.,feed rollers 40 and 42, as depicted in FIG. 1).

When the rear base cutters 34 are needed (e.g., as may depend on fieldconditions or layout, the sugarcane itself, the configuration of thefront support modules 70 and 112, and so on), the support module 170 maybe attached to the chassis 22 such that the rear base cutters 34 areoriented within the module cavity 180. The harvester 20 may then beoperated with the base cutters 34 being utilized to cut sugarcane fromthe ground, to route already-cut sugarcane from the base cutters 38farther into the harvester 20, and so on. When the rear base cutters 34are not needed, however, or when other harvesting devices may be moreuseful, the support module 170 may be detached from the chassis 22 and adifferent harvesting device support module installed. For example, thebase cutter support module 170 may be removed and the feed rollersupport module 174 attached in its place (e.g., using the same mountinglocations on the chassis 22). The harvester 20 may then be operated withthe feed rollers 178 serving to route cut sugarcane farther into theharvester 20.

Other modularity and configurations are also possible. In certainembodiments, it may be possible to move the tracks 24 (or wheels (notshown)) with respect to the chassis 22 (or vice versa) to furthercustomize the harvester 20 to a particular set of operations. This maybe useful, for example, in order to vary the lateral spacing betweenvarious left- and right-side tracks 24 (or wheels, and so on). Asdepicted in FIGS. 6A and 6B, various actuators 184 may be mounted to thechassis 22 and to the track frame 60 (or other relevant structure). Theactuators 184 may be utilized to vary the distance between the right-and left-side tracks 24, as appropriate. In certain embodiments,separate right- and left-side track carriages (not shown) may supportthe tracks 24 with respect to a single track frame 60, and the actuators184 may be utilized to move each of the track carriages laterally alonga single track frame 60. In certain embodiments, the track frame 60 maybe separated into separate right- and left-side frames (not shown), eachsupporting an associated track 24. In such a case, the actuators 184 maymove each of the separate side frames with respect to the chassis 22.

In light of the discussion above, it will be understood that the varioussupport modules may be utilized in various combinations in order tooptimally configure the harvester 20 for a variety of field and croparrangements. For example, through selective use and arrangement of thesupport modules 70, 112, 170 and 174 (and others), appropriate spacingfor the crop dividers 32 may be obtained, as well as appropriateorientations and combinations of various base cutters 38 and 34, feedrollers 178, and other devices.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that any use of the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising” in this specification specifies thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The description of the present disclosure has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of thedisclosure. Explicitly referenced embodiments herein were chosen anddescribed in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure andtheir practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill inthe art to understand the disclosure and recognize many alternatives,modifications, and variations on the described example(s). Accordingly,various other implementations are within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A modular, adjustable sugarcane harvester,comprising: a chassis having a first plurality of discreet and laterallyseparated mounting locations and a second plurality of discreet andlaterally separated mounting locations; a crop divider; a front basecutter assembly; a crop divider support module configured to separatelyand fixedly attach to the chassis at each of the first plurality ofmounting locations, the crop divider support module thereby separatelysupporting the crop divider in, respectively, each of a plurality ofdiscreet and laterally separated crop divider orientations; and a frontbase cutter support module configured to separately and fixedly attachto the chassis at each of the second plurality of mounting locations,the front base cutter support module thereby separately supporting thefront base cutter assembly in, respectively, each of a plurality ofdiscreet and laterally separated front base cutter orientations; whereinthe crop divider support module is distinct from the front base cuttersupport module, the crop divider support module and the front basecutter support module being separately attachable to the chassis.
 2. Thesugarcane harvester of claim 1, further comprising: one or moreactuators attached to the crop divider support module, the one or moreactuators being configured to move the crop divider support modulebetween two or more of the first plurality of mounting locations.
 3. Thesugarcane harvester of claim 2, wherein the crop divider support moduleincludes an upper mounting arm mounted to the chassis, a lower mountingarm mounted to the chassis, and a support arm attached to each of theupper and lower mounting arms and to the crop divider.
 4. The sugarcaneharvester of claim 1, further comprising: one or more links extendingbetween the crop divider support module and the crop divider; wherein,when the crop divider support module is attached to the chassis at oneof the first plurality of mounting locations, the one or more linkssupport the crop divider with respect to the chassis.
 5. The sugarcaneharvester of claim 1, further comprising: one or more actuators attachedto one or more of the crop divider and the crop divider support module,the one or more actuators being configured to move the crop divider withrespect to the chassis when the crop divider support module is attachedto the chassis at one of the first plurality of mounting locations. 6.The sugarcane harvester of claim 1, wherein the first and secondplurality of mounting locations include a plurality of common mountinglocations; and wherein the front base cutter support module and the cropdivider support module are configured to attach to the chassissimultaneously at a shared one or more of the plurality of commonmounting locations.
 7. The sugarcane harvester of claim 1, furthercomprising: one or more actuators attached to one or more of the frontbase cutter assembly and the front base cutter support module, the oneor more actuators being configured to move the front base cutterassembly with respect to the chassis when the base cutter support moduleis attached to the chassis at one of the second plurality of mountinglocations.
 8. The sugarcane harvester of claim 1, further comprising: amodule cavity defined, at least in part, by the chassis, the modulecavity being oriented behind the crop divider, with respect to a forwarddirection of travel of the sugarcane harvester; at least one modulecavity mounting location included on the chassis; a feed roller supportmodule supporting one or more feed rollers, the feed roller supportmodule being configured to attach to the chassis at that at least onemodule cavity mounting location, such that the one or more feed rollersare oriented, at least in part, within the module cavity; and a rearbase cutter support module supporting a rear base cutter assembly, therear base cutter support module being configured to attach to thechassis at the at least one module cavity mounting location, such thatthe rear base cutter assembly is oriented, at least in part, within themodule cavity; wherein only one of the feed roller support module andthe rear base cutter support module at a time may be mounted to thechassis at the at least one module cavity mounting location.
 9. Thesugarcane harvester of claim 1, further comprising: a transport framesupporting one or more of a track for moving the sugarcane harvester anda wheel for moving the sugarcane harvester; and one or more actuatorsattached to the transport frame; wherein the one or more actuators areconfigured to move the transport frame with respect to the chassis, inorder to adjust a relative orientation of the one or more of the trackand the wheel with respect to the chassis.